The invention relates generally to an electrophysiological ("EP") apparatus and method for providing energy to biological tissue, and more particularly, to a catheter having an electrode with a non-joined thermocouple for providing multiple temperature-sensitive junctions on the electrode.
The heart beat in a healthy human is controlled by the sinoatrial node ("S-A node") located in the wall of the right atrium. The S-A node generates electrical signal potentials that are transmitted through pathways of conductive heart tissue in the atrium to the atrioventricular node ("A-V node") which in turn transmits the electrical signals throughout the ventricle by means of the His and Purkinje conductive tissues. Improper growth of, or damage to, the conductive tissue in the heart can interfere with the passage of regular electrical signals from the S-A and A-V nodes. Electrical signal irregularities resulting from such interference can disturb the normal rhythm of the heart and cause an abnormal rhythmic condition referred to as "cardiac arrhythma."
While there are different treatments for cardiac arrhythmia, including the application of anti-arrhythmia drugs, in many cases ablation of the damaged tissue can restore the correct operation of the heart. Such ablation can be performed by percutaneous ablation, a procedure in which a catheter is percutaneously introduced into the patient and directed through an artery to the atrium or ventricle of the heart to perform single or multiple diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or surgical procedures. In such case, an ablation procedure is used to destroy the tissue causing the arrhythmia in an attempt to remove the electrical signal irregularities or create a conductive tissue block to restore normal heart beat or at least an improved heart beat. Successful ablation of the conductive tissue at the arrhythmia initiation site usually terminates the arrhythmia or at least moderates the heart rhythm to acceptable levels. A widely accepted treatment for arrhythmia involves the application of RF energy to the conductive tissue.
In the case of atrial fibrillation ("AF"), a procedure published by Cox et al. and known as the "Maze procedure" involves continuous atrial incisions to prevent atrial reentry and to allow sinus impulses to activate the entire myocardium. While this procedure has been found to be successful, it involves an intensely invasive approach. It is more desirable to accomplish the same result as the Maze procedure by use of a less invasive approach, such as through the use of an appropriate EP catheter system.
There are two general methods of applying RF energy to cardiac tissue, unipolar and bipolar. In the unipolar method a large surface area electrode; e.g., a backplate, is placed on the chest, back or other external location of the patient to serve as a return. The backplate completes an electrical circuit with one or more electrodes that are introduced into the heart, usually via a catheter, and placed in intimate contact with the aberrant conductive tissue. In the bipolar method, electrodes introduced into the heart have different potentials and complete an electrical circuit between themselves. In the bipolar method, the flux traveling between the two electrodes of the catheter enters the tissue to cause ablation.
During ablation, the electrodes are placed in intimate contact with the target endocardial tissue. RF energy is applied to the electrodes to raise the temperature of the target tissue to a non-viable state. In general, the temperature boundary between viable and non-viable tissue is approximately 48.degree. Centigrade. Tissue heated to a temperature above 48.degree. C. becomes non-viable and defines the ablation volume. The objective is to elevate the tissue temperature, which is generally at 37.degree. C., fairly uniformly to an ablation temperature above 48.degree. C., while keeping both the temperature at the tissue surface and the temperature of the electrode below 100.degree. C.
During ablation, portions of the electrodes are typically in contact with the blood, so that it is possible for clotting and boiling of blood to occur if those electrodes reach an excessive temperature. Both of these conditions are undesirable. Clotting is particularly troublesome at the surface of the catheter electrode because the impedance at the electrode rises to a level where the power delivery is insufficient to effect ablation. The catheter must be removed and cleaned before the procedure can continue. Additionally, too great a rise in impedance can result in sparking and thrombus formation within the heart, both of which are also undesirable.
Further, too great a temperature at the interface between the electrode and the tissue can cause the tissue to reach a high impedance which will attenuate and even block the further transmission of RF energy into the tissue thereby interfering with ablation of tissue at that location.
Even though no significant amount of heat is generated in the electrodes themselves, adjacent heated endocardial tissue heats the electrodes via heat conduction through the tissue. As mentioned above, part of the active electrode will be in contact with the blood in the heart and if the electrode temperature exceeds 90-100.degree., it can result in blood boiling and clotting on the electrode. The application of RF energy must then be stopped. However, shutting the RF generator off due to the temperature rise may not allow sufficient time to complete the entire ablation procedure. Providing an ablation electrode capable of applying higher amounts of power for a longer period of time to ablate the damaged tissue to an acceptable depth is a goal of current ablation catheter electrode design. It has been found that higher power for longer time periods results in a higher probability of success of the ablation procedure.
To avoid clotting and blood boiling, RF ablation catheters for cardiac applications typically provide temperature feedback during ablation via a temperature sensor such as a thermocouple. In its simplest form, a thermocouple consists of two dissimilar metals joined together at one end called a "bead" or junction, such as a conventional copper/constantan type "T" thermocouple. When the junction is heated a thermoelectric potential arises and can be measured across the unconnected ends. This is also known as the thermoelectric or Seebeck effect. This voltage is proportional to the temperature difference between the junction and the non-joined ends.
A conventional RF ablation catheter typically has a single tip electrode and a single temperature sensor mounted along the centerline of the tip electrode where temperature readings are not affected by the rotational orientation of the catheter. Although a temperature gradient typically exists in tip electrodes, wherein the electrode is hottest at the tissue interface and coolest on the opposite side which is in contact with circulating blood, the centerline sensor provides a moderate output by which it can be determined whether the temperature of the tissue contacted by the electrode is being raised sufficiently, and whether a therapeutic lesion is being generated.
In the case where a catheter has a band electrode, such as for the treatment of atrial fibrillation by the ablation of tissue, a single temperature sensor mounted to the band may not provide the temperature of the tissue contacting the band electrode. Typically the side of the band which is in direct contact with the tissue becomes significantly hotter than the rest of the band electrode that is cooled by the blood flow. Thus, the temperature reading can be dramatically influenced by the rotational orientation of the catheter during RF ablation. If the band is oriented so that the single temperature sensor is not in contact with the tissue during the application of ablation energy, not only would there be a time lag in the sensor reaching the tissue temperature, but due to the effect of the cooling blood flow, the sensor reading may never approach the actual tissue temperature.
To overcome the effect that the rotation orientation of the band electrode has on temperature sensing, two thermocouples, positioned at different locations of the band electrode, may be used. A theory is that having a sensor in contact with tissue is more likely. While attachment of multiple temperature sensors to the band electrode can result in a higher probability of sensing the actual tissue interface temperature, this also increases the number of wires occupying space within the catheter. As is well appreciated by those skilled in the art, an increase in the number of internal wires could mean an undesirable increase in catheter diameter to accommodate those wires. Conventional types of thermocouples each require a thermocouple wire pair. Two thermocouples at each band electrode would result in four wires per band electrode so that the use of multiple temperature sensors may not be practical, particularly where the catheter carries multiple band electrodes that require temperature monitoring.
The larger the catheter, the more traumatic it is to the patient. Also, the more difficult it may be to negotiate the patient's vessels to position the catheter at the desired location in the heart. It is desirable to provide a catheter with as small a diameter as possible. A limiting factor in reducing the size of the catheter is the amount of devices and leads that must be carried inside the catheter. In the case of a catheter having ten band electrodes with two thermocouple temperature sensors at each electrode, a total of fifty wires would be necessary; one power wire for each electrode and two wires for each thermocouple. The size of fifty wires inside a catheter can be significant, causing an increased diameter of the catheter. Yet it is desirable to retain the electrodes and the associated temperature sensors so that more precise control over the energy applied to the biological tissue can be effected. Thus, it would be desirable to reduce the number of wires within a catheter, yet retain the same functionality.
Hence, those skilled in the art have recognized a need for a minimally invasive ablation apparatus that is capable of controlling the flow of current through a biological site so that lesions with controllable surface and depth characteristics may be produced and the ablation volume thereby controlled. Additionally, a need has been recognized for providing an electrode with multiple temperature sensors for providing reliable electrode/tissue interface temperature readings substantially independent of the rotational orientation of the catheter but with a reduced number of sensor leads. Similarly, a need has been recognized for a method for reliably determining the electrode/tissue interface temperature readings substantially independent of the rotational orientation of the catheter but with a reduced number of sensor leads The invention fulfills these needs and others.